Pras releases Lauryn Hill diss track following tour cancellation
The Fugees are among the most iconic hip-hop trios of all time, famed for releasing the utterly groundbreaking record The Score in 1996. However, nearly three decades later, it seems as though there is no love lost between the respective members of the group, with Pras Michel unleashing a no-holds-barred diss track aimed at his former bandmate, Lauryn Hill.
Prior to the release of this scathing assault on Hill, entitled ‘Bar Mitzfa’, Pras had not released any standalone solo material since the 2017 track ‘Pump Fakin’. The track seems to attack Hill over the recent cancellation of The Fugees’ Miseducation anniversary tour, which was set to take place later this month, before being quietly cancelled with no reason or justification given to disappointed fans.
Eventually, Hill appeared to confirm that the tour had been cancelled due to low ticket sales. Writing on social media, at the time, the songwriter shared, “With difficulty the decision was made to pull down our upcoming North American tour dates. The shows in the UK and Europe are moving forward as planned.”
Originally, the tour had been planned for 2021 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Score. However, the difficulties incurred by the covid pandemic caused the tour to be repeatedly pushed back until it was eventually slated to take place in August 2024, celebrating the anniversary of Hill’s iconic solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The highly publicised tour was cancelled very quietly, but Pras suggests in ‘Bar Mitzfa’ that it was Hill who pulled the plug.
On the single, shared exclusively to TMZ, the New Yorker rapper shares, “No one will remember: clickbait beefs, how many Gucci bags you owned, bogus excuses.” Alluding to the cancellation of the recent tour, Pras continued, “People will remember: How you made them feel, if you kept your word, if they could count on you, if you come on time.”
Last week, the rapper aimed more heat at his former bandmate, telling TMZ, “I saved her reputation for 20 years by not telling my side of the story but, oops, cat’s out the bag.” Of course, the extent of Pras’ ‘side of the story’ has not yet been fully realised, but the idea that he has saved the reputation of Lauryn Hill – one of the most successful hip-hop artists of all time – seems particularly egregious.
With the European leg of the tour set to take place in mere months, it seems unlikely that Pras Michel will be making any appearances alongside Hill after the release of ‘Bar Mitzfa’. Then again, Hill has always created her best material while working solo.